Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation offers to pay IRB 459cr for inter-city roads

The MSRDC on Tuesday presented the buy-back offer to the company for the project expecting the top-line price of Rs 459.044 crore. The MSRDC letter also asked closure of the nine toll collection centres in the city with effect from January 1, 2016Samrat Phadnis | TNN | December 30, 2015, 18:00 IST

KOLHAPUR: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will have to cough up at least Rs 459 crore to pay off the Ideal Road Builders (IRB) Company for the controversial integrated road development project in Kolhapur.

The MSRDC on Tuesday presented the buy-back offer to the company for the project expecting the top-line price of Rs 459.044 crore. The MSRDC letter also asked closure of the nine toll collection centres in the city with effect from January 1, 2016.

The company had presented a claim of Rs 612.153 crore and will negotiate with the MSRDC to get an acceptable price for the 49-km roads constructed in the city. The government has stayed Kolhapur toll collection since August 11, 2015.

District guardian minister Chandrakant Patil announced that the entire payment would be made by the MSRDC and the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) would not have to bear the burdenof the agreement.

" The MSRDC sent a letter to the company today informing of the government decision to scrap the toll collection from January 1. It clearly states the project is the MSRDC's property, where no toll will be charged. After many rounds of negotiations, the company has has assured that it will not go to court against the government," Patil said.

The government has accepted public works department secretary S B Tamsekar's report of paying the company Rs 459.044 crore, including the 12% interest from 2011. "There is no ambiguity in the government about the decision. The MSRDC is capable of paying the bill. They can raise a loan or can think of other option. Government will support MSRDC to close the deal at the earliest," Patil said. The IRB has also agreed to handover the land given by KMC. The land will be owned by MSRDC. It will decide how to utilize the land. IRB has already completed 80% of the construction of a five-star hotel at the land, he added.

R L Mopalwar, vice-chairman and managing director of MSRDC, told TOI that the letter has stated the government's order to cancel the toll collection. "We have told IRB that the debts will be settled through negotiation at appropriate time," he said.

Rajendra Sawant, who represented citizens over revaluation committee questioned whether the total pricing has considered the quality of roads and the incomplete work. "The Tamsekar committee has mentioned the actual road construction cost as Rs 197.398. I don't kwhether they have considered the work that wasn't of proper quality. If we had deducted that cost, the actual road construction cost would be around Rs 140 crore," he said.

Box I

The protests cost

Earlier Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led government ignored the Kolhapur anti-toll committee protests in the initial phase during 2011, when the project was declared completed. The protests, started by few people soon turned into massive agitations which burnt toll plazas at-least three times. BJP leader late Gopinath Munde brought the toll in Lok Sabha election campaign and declared the party will make Maharashtra toll-free. Now, while abolishing the toll of Kolhapur, the MSRDC, have to pay minimum Rs 459 crore means the stat-coffers will suffer by that much amount. "Despite of that we are firm to cancel the toll and have started taking steps in this regard. We have appointed a committee under PWD official Anand Kulkarni. The committee will also take decision, a positive decision on Mumbai toll," PWD minister Chandrakant Patil said.

Box II

Cost of incomplete work

Rajendra Sawant, who represented citizens over revaluation committee formed by the state government, to decide the repayment, questioned whether the total pricing has considered the quality of roads and the incomplete work. "The Tamsekar committee has mentioned the actual road construction cost Rs 197.398. I don't kwhether they have considered the work that wasn't of quality and incomplete. If we had deducted that cost, the actual road construction cost would be around Rs 140 crore," he said.

Box III

Various committees on IRDP project and their claims (Figures in Rs Crore)